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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. spell — letters
  3. club — for dancing
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mug — a cup
  6. file — a document
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mug — a face
  9. club — for golf
  10. spell — a short time
  11. lie — to recline
  12. rash — a series
  13. spell — magic
  14. mug — to rob
  15. file — a line of people
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rash — hasty
  23. file — a tool
  24. face — part of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com